DIY - Canvas Art Part 2

I have 2 nieces! 

One turned 9 back in July 

She came to stay with me

&

 we had fun with paint

(This is all inspired by Pinterest) 

Well, my other niece is turning 11 next week

so she came to stay with me this weekend

We went to Hobby Lobby

She picked out the size canvas she liked

(I love the 2 pack)

Abby's Musical Painting

Abby's Stained Glass

Aunt Sandi's "breathe" with pearls

Aunt Sandi's "ode to Kate Spade"

Fresh Flowers

I love fresh flowers! When I was young, I thought girls only got flowers from boys! 

Then, as I got older, flowers were something you received on special occasions. ( birthdays, anniversaries, Valentines Day, childbirth, etc)

One day, I just decided that I am not going to wait to receive flowers! I am going to buy my own! It was very liberating for some reason! 

Back in the late 90's, I started buying gladiolas for my breakfast room table. They were so tall and dramatic. 

 Now, I just buy these sweet simple flowers. I got these at Whole Foods. I usually just pick up whatever catches my eye, is seasonal, and fits my budget at the time. Sometimes just some simple white roses or hydrangeas.  I picked these as they remind me of the last days of summer!

I just place them in little nooks around the house!

They make me smile ! 

Do you have fresh flowers in your home? 

Sundried Tomato and Goat Cheese Nachos

Fried Wonton Chips with Parmesan Cheese

Sundried Tomato and Goat Cheese Nacho

Terelli's is one of my favorite restaurants

here in Dallas

They have these amazing

 "Italchos - Italian Nachos"

They make homemade pizza chips

&

you get to choose your own toppings

I've been dying to make these at home

but I did not want to try to make

my own homemade pizza chips

 I decided to try wonton wrappers

I tried baking them first, but it just was not crunchy enough

I do not like to fry food, but

I really wanted a "chip" for my italian nachos

Once I fried them in canola oil,

I think the angels started singing

These are delicious

There isn't really a fancy recipe for this

Just buy a package of wonton wrappers

(usually in the produce section of most grocery stores by the tofu)

Fill the bottom of a skillet with canola oil, heat on medium high

Cut the wonton wrappers into triangles

Once the oil is hot, place them in the skillet 

(do not overcrowd)

Cook until just slightly golden and crispy

Drain them on a paper towel

Sprinkle with grated fresh Parmesan Cheese

(taste if you want)

Then add the toppings of your choice:

(pepperoni, prociutto, pancetta, bacon, meatball, salami, shrimp, anchovies, artichokes, roasted garlic, capers, sundried tomatoes, onions, mushrooms,spinach, jalapenos, cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, ricotta, feta, goat cheese, basil, parsley, pine nuts, etc)

Broil for about 2-3 minutes - watch closely

You just want the cheese you choose to melt!

Next time, I'm going to add proscuitto and roasted garlic

What are your favorite italian toppings?  

Grilled Italian Sandwich

I was inspired to grill this sandwich after watching Curtis Stone make an outdoor grilled cheese sandwich on The Chew last week!

The only ingredient I copied from his recipe is the ciabatta bread. I knew the'd be no way my son, Ryan would even attempt to eat a sandwich with gruyere, Brie and nectarine chutney. I love all these ingredients so I will have to attempt that one another day. 

Now, on this sandwich, we had to divide it as we like different things! Ryan used red pepper mayo, salami, ham, tomatoes, red onion, and cheddar cheese!  I used fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and fresh basil from my garden. I drizzled my side with balsamic vinegar. 

Before we "dressed" our sandwich, I brushed the bread with olive oil, rubbed a garlic clove on it, and sprinkled it with salt & pepper. Ryan grilled it until just lightly toasted. We "dressed" it, brushed a light coat of olive oil on the outside of the bread, then put it back on the grill just long enough for the cheese to melt. 

The bread was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Ryan did not like his bread so crunchy, but he did eat his entire half of the sandwich. Mine was delicious. The creaminess of the mozza cheese with the tomato and basil complimented the crunchy bread. I think I might try French bread or a baguette next time, though! Just because! 

Pie Carrier

Vonny Pie Carrier

 My life is now complete!

I've been coveting

this Vonny pie carrier for about a year

(last summer I went through cream pie phase

and wanted something pretty to carry them in )

Just recently, my dear friend, Misty

surprised me with this beautiful St Charles carrier

It's almost too pretty to put a pie in

but...

Vonny Pie Carrier (inside)

 this lovely pink  (insulated interior) is so easy to clean

Now all my pretty desserts have the perfect traveling attire!

Glitterville Cupcake Carrier

I already had this lovely cupcake carrier  

from Glitterville

World Market Let Them Eat Cake Carrier

As well as this vintage looking 

cake carrier that I bought 

at World Market earlier this year

Do you have fun "accessories" for your traveling desserts?

DIY: Pepper and Spice Blends

Back in 2008, I posted about my favorite spice shop

Penzey's

It has every spice and dried herb imaginable,

they are fresh, and they provide several quantity options

so you aren't spending 7 dollars for a spice 

you will only use once

With that said, there are 2 products that I use all the

time so I decided to come up with my own blends 

Mainly because I bought these cute rustic 

salt/pepper shakers at Target

I didn't really need them

I just like them

Sooooooooooo

As I realized that I'm running out of 

cinnamon sugar

&

how much we use it on EVERYTHING

(pancakes, cookies, cupcakes, toast, etc)  

Cinnamon Suga

 I decided that my salt shaker would become 

a cinnamon suga shaker

I mixed about 3/4 cup sugar

with

 3 tablespoons of Penzey's Cinnamon

but

I did not stop there

I was also running out of 

black & red 

which is a blend of black & cayenne pepper

I use this in all my savory dishes 

SOOOOOOOOO

Black n Red Peppa

my pepper shaker became a

black n red peppa shaker

 

I combined black pepper with cayenne pepper

(sorry Penzey's - I like your peppers, but I was out of cayenne

and picked this one up at Target)

Now, I didn't take the time to measure

I believe I will regret this

a little bit of cayenne (red) pepper goes a very long way

very long

so, mix this one at your heat tolerance discretion

if you so dare to try it

So, do you have a favorite spice or pepper that you can't cook without ?

Mozza Pizza on the Grill

Mozza Pizza on the Grill

Mozza with Basil

Cooking pizza on the grill

has become our favorite thing to do

This time I thought I'd try something different

Using Mama Mary's thin pizza crust

(they carry this at most of the local grocery stores here in Dallas)

I just brushed the crust with olive oil

sprinkled it with some garlic butter flavored sea salt (lightly)

Mozzarella Company Cheeses

Then,  I used both of these cheeses

(that I picked up a couple Saturday's ago at the White Rock Local Market)

It's been a while

since I tasted

Mozzarella Company's mozzarella cheese

It melts in your mouth like BUTTER

Fresh Basil

I used fresh basil from my herb garden

I have to say that this pizza was amazing!

Swayze

Swayze @ 6 Months Old

Here is the latest addition to my family

Swayze (aka Batman Swayze-notice his black mask, Swayzers, Swayzeeeeeeee, Swayz)

(Yes, that's right.. after Patrick Swayze from the Road House movie)

He is my son's dog

but I get to love on him

He turned 6 months old on Saturday

He is a rhodesian ridgeback, australian cattle dog

black mountain dog and boxer mix

He weighs about 45lbs

He will probably get up to about 60ish lbs

He seems to get taller every day though

DIY - Canvas Art

My neice just turned 9 years old  

For her birthday,

she came over on Saturday

to spend the night.

After a shopping trip to Hobby Lobby,

we tried our first arts and crafts project.

We bought 2 different size canvas

They each had 2 in the pack

We each had an 8x10

&

 an 11x14 canvas

Of course, all inspiration came from Pinterest

Where else ?

 We just kind of "winged" it

We had the following:

acrylic paints

paint brushes

canvas

mod podge (sparkly)

My neice embraced the project with full force

She knew what she wanted to say

&

She knew exactly the colors she wanted to use

 

Me on the other hand..

Not so much...

I used copper & brown to match my room

I first started with a cute saying

but couldn't really commit

So, I just put random letters on after I painted the copper

Then I painted "expresso" over them

Then I wasn't thinking, and I peeled off the letters...

So... I had to improvise and paint gold over the DREAM letters

looks like it was meant to be that way, right???

This is both of our attempts of doing hearts.

I say for our first attempt at being artist,

we did pretty good...

since they are just going to hang

in our rooms for us to see



Stuffed Summer Squash Boats

 I watched Jamie Deen make this on his show

Home for Dinner with Jamie Deen



Stuffed Summer Squash Boat



The Filling - Italian Sausage, Red Onion & Cherry Tomatoes

I used the "chocolate" cherry tomatoes from my farmers market find this weekend



Stuffed Squash

Stuffed Squash with Breadcrumbs

The only change I made is that I used spicy italian sausage

not turkey italian sausage

I thought the Thai Rice Noodles recipe

 I made several weeks ago was one of the best dishes I had made in a while, but no

This one wins - hands down!  Even my son agreed

Stuffed Summer Squash Boats

adapted from Jamie Deen's Stuffed Squash Boat Recipe - Food Network

Ingredients

4 large yellow squash (straight-neck variety)

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for the breadcrumbs

8 ounces italian sausage (you can use turkey)

1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/4 cup Parmesan

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Put the squash in a 12-inch high sided skillet, cover halfway with water & bring to a simmer. Turn to low, cover with a lid, and cook until tender crisp, about 8 minutes.  Set the squash aside to cool.

3. Drain the water from the skiller, wipe dry and place over medium-heat. Add oil if using turkey sausage.  If you are using italian sausage, you do not need the oil.  Cook, stirring until almost cooked through, about 4 minutes. Stir in the onions and cook until softened, about 4 minutes more.  Toss in the tomatoes, season with a big pinch of salt and pepper.  Cook until the tomatoes start to break down a bit, 1 more minute.  Set aside to cool.

4. While the mixture is cooling, trim the ends of the squash, slice in half lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds with a spoon, making a boat shape.  Chop up the centers and combine with the sausage filling.

5.  Spoon the mixture into the boats, mounding them high.  Place on a baking sheet.  Mix together panko, parmesan, chopped parsley and olive oil in a small bowl.  Sprinkle on top of the stuffed squash.  Bake until golden on top, about 25 minutes.

White Rock Local Market

We have an awesome local farmers market in my neighborhood

White Rock Local Market @ Lakeside

1st and 3rd Saturdays

Lakeside Baptist Church

9150 Garland Rd

Dallas 75218

White Rock Local Market @ Green Spot

2nd and 4th Saturdays
Green Spot

702 N. Buckner Blvd

Dallas 75218

They are only open

from

8am - 1pm

I got there about 10ish and several farmers were already sold out

I recommend getting there EARLY

I was focused on fresh produce for the grill



Zucchini and Squash

I used the squash last night (see below)

I plan on grilling the zucchini tonight

Check out the lovely yellowy goldish ones



"Chocolate" Cherry Tomatoes



No, silly, these do not task like chocolate

They taste just like cherry tomatoes

Baby Portabellas & Button Mushrooms

I love love love mushrooms

I am going to stuff these and grill them 



Montasio Rosemary and Fresh Mozzarella Cheeses



 We have a fabulous local cheese company (actually several)

but this one is amazing

It's called the Mozzarella Company

Most of the local stores sell their cheeses

They have classes on how to make cheese, how to pair it with wine,

and

how to pair it with beer

I have not tried the Montasio Rosemary cheese

It is a hard cheese so I cannot wait to try it out on my next pasta dish

I plan on using the mozzarella cheese

on my next grilled pizza

Jamie Deen's Stuffed Squash Boats

This was last night's supper

Check out tomorrow's post for the recipe

This is probably the best recipe I've tried in a long time

(& I've tried alot) 

These have spicy italian sausage, red onions,

the "chocolate" cherry tomatoes from above, 

&

are topped off with panko/parmesan bread crumbs